Nine Russians have neutral status renewed by IAAF

ZURICH: Nine Russian athletes have had their status to compete as neutrals renewed, the governing body of athletics (IAAF) said in a statement on Thursday.

Eight of the athletes were race walkers who included Sergey Shirobokov, silver medallist in the 20 kilometre walk at the world championships in London last year.The other was Kseniya Aksyonova, a European championship silver medallist from 2010 in the 400 metres.

Russia was banned by the IAAF in 2015 following an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigation into allegations, still denied by Moscow, of state-sponsored doping.Russian athletes can be cleared to compete internationally by demonstrating to the IAAF that their training environment meets the required anti-doping standards.

The IAAF simplified the process for athletes who are reapplying in December.It said 30 Russian athletes had been authorised to compete this year and a further 30 had been rejected.